Fantasy versions of urban life are on the rise, from a backwater, vamp-infested Louisiana town to Robert Rodiguez's new privately-owned Black Falls. It's time to check out our gallery of the worst fake cities on the planet.

Read on for a look at the sleek and sexy vampiric drama True Blood, one of the biggest shows in the US and heading our way.

From Bram Stoker's original novel via Hammer House of Horror's Christopher Lee to last year's teen hit Twilight, our bloodlust for the vampire genre shows no sign of abating after 300 years.

Cult Swedish movie Let the Right One In is being hailed by many critics as the greatest film of 2009 so far and Guillermo del Toro, the director of Pan's Labyrinth is currently writing The Strain, a trilogy of books about a vampiric virus that invades New York.

In a similar vein comes True Blood, a new HBO drama by Alan Ball, the man behind American Beauty and Six Feet Under.

Already one of the biggest shows in the States, grabbing bigger ratings than Sex in the City or The Sopranos, True Blood is a black comedy set in small town America in the not too distant future. Thanks to the invention of a synthetic form of blood, vampires now no longer need to feed on humans to survive so have 'come out of their coffins' and uneasily co exist alongside humans in society.

You can top with chopped peanuts, shaved chocolate , chocolate chips or drizzle with Hershey's syrup, goodness! Yum!

**International readers: confectioners sugar is the same as powdered sugar , Cool Whip is the common name for frozen whipped topping in US but 2 cups real sweetened whipped cream can be used, It's been suggested that crushed digestives or some other crumbly cookie could be used as a crust. Thanks Rose

Actress Carrie Preston did not know what to think when producer Alan Ball approached her about playing the role of Arlene Fowler in the TV series "True Blood."

"I was cast in this movie of his called 'Towel Head;' and while we were shooting, he said he was doing a pilot for HBO about vampires, which I thought was a little surprising because I knew what he had done before, and it was kind of a departure," Preston said.

"True Blood" is a show based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries novels by Charlaine Harris. The show was created by Alan Ball and tells the story of vampires and humans trying to coexist together in Bon Temps, a fictional Louisana town.

Arlene Fowler is a multiple divorced mother of two children who waitresses with main character Sookie Stackhouse, played by Anna Paquin. Fowler played a somewhat pivotal role when her fiancée was revealed as a serial killer.

"I got a hold of the script and read it and at first I didn't know what character he was talking about," Preston said. "It's not like you look at the description of Arlene and you immediately think 'Carrie Preston.' He really likes to cast actors that he wants to work with. But he lets us find the character."

I was browsing the ALA program listings, when I discovered, somewhat buried in a list of panelists, the name Charlaine Harris. Yep; the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series (the basis for HBO’s hit True Blood) is on the paranormal panel. Below is the program description.

Sunday 10:30 am – 12:00 pm 74b

Things That Go Bump in the Stacks: Whole Collection Advisory for Paranormal Fiction Sunday, 10:30am – 12pm, McCormick Place West Come discuss best practices for helping patrons find paranormal materials they can really sink their teeth into. This program focuses on understanding the appeal of the genre and helping fans find materials throughout the library. Event panel moderated by Neil Hollands includes genre authors Charlaine Harris, Charlie Huston and Marjorie Liu.

Come discuss best practices for helping patrons find paranormal materials they can really sink their teeth into. This program focuses on understanding the appeal of the genre and helping fans find materials throughout the library. Event panel moderated by Neil Hollands includes genre authors Charlaine Harris, Charlie Huston and Marjorie Liu.

Harris will also be at the Penguin booth #2020 on Sunday from 1:30 to 2:30 (see full Penguin booth schedule).

For more insight on the genre, check out Penguin’s “Project Paranormal.” It includes “What’s Next with Cindy Hwang,” Executive Editor, Berkeley Books, one of the pioneers in the genre, talking trends in the genre and several authors she regards as future stars.

To attend this you must be a member of ALA and registered attendee but CH will also be doing a public book signing in the Chicago area July 13th HERE

One of the gentle souls in the movie business is Guillermo del Toro, and I always look forward to my interviews with him. This is a longer version of my latest story on Del Toro, which is scheduled to run Thursday on the cover of the Los Angeles Times Calender section.

On the far side of the globe, in New Zealand, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is now in his seventh month of labor on “The Hobbit,” a $300-million epic that will be told over two films in 2011 and 2012. But you can also find the Guadalajara native on the shelf of your local bookstore with his just-released debut novel, “The Strain,” the opening installment of a vampire trilogy he already has mapped out.

That’s only the beginning. The 44-year-old Del Toro, who was nominated for an Oscar for the dark fairy tale “Pan’s Labyrinth” and showed his crowd-pleasing sensibilities with the “Hellboy” films, also has plans to reanimate some musty and monstrous literary classics. He plans to make a “Frankenstein” film as well as an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s epic “At the Mountains of Madness,” a project he breathlessly refers to as “my obsession.”

On June 19, Jonathan McIntosh vanquished “Twilight’s” undead heartthrob Edward with the help of one Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

It was something that needed to be done, McIntosh said in an interview, calling Edward “a creepy stalker guy.” After the vampire’s obsessive pursuit of his teenage love Bella in last year’s “Twilight,” McIntosh was driven to act.

“Bella is not weirded out by his behavior at all, which made me think, ‘What would Buffy do to this guy if he was into her? What would she do if he snuck into her room at night watching her sleep without her knowing?’” McIntosh said.

As realized by McIntosh, he’d get rebuffed, mocked and, ultimately, a stake through the heart.

McIntosh, 30, a freelance Web designer and owner of RebelliousPixels.com, took it upon himself to pit the two characters against each other in a video he created using footage from the “Buffy” TV series and the “Twilight” film to show, well, an alternative -- and fatal -- ending for the love-struck Edward.

"Buffy" executive producer Marti Noxon said in an interview, "I'm a sucker, so to speak, for any vampire story so I'm a fan of the 'Twilight' saga, but it's true that Edward hasn't come up against a kick-ass woman like Buffy."

"I'm really glad that she didn't end up doing the smoochies with him."